Was once on this island the right choice for Tony for best revival?- Page 2

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/11/18 at 10:20am

I know it's not fair to compare a live experience with YouTube low quality videos, but I didn't like Martine McCutcheon as Eliza and I thought the ending was too unsatisfying. Hand on the hip and side-eye to Higgins. The 2001 version does seem like a more classic version of the piece with the higher energy and with the jokes landing. Sher for some reason thinks having jokes landing takes away the more grounded and "realistic" tone he often goes for in his productions. Some shows lend itself better to that than others. 

For example, nobody matched Ken Watanabe's star power and sheer ferocity and passion as the King for me (and yes I'm including Yul Brynner), but I've seen videos of regional performances that went for the more classic approach and of course the King was funnier and the comic timing the King had there really made those lines land and added to the experience. One thing gets sacrificed for the other and Sher goes for one approach and sticks with it.

[bdn223]

Posted: 6/11/18 at 11:17am

I think first and foremost  Once On This Island had a solid 35% of ride or die support from Tony Voters before Award Season even started. When nominations were first announced it seemed like My Fair Lady was a sure bet with Lauren Ambrose being considered a Front runner for Leading Actress, and it looking to sweep up the technical awards.  Carousel was the bad revival of the season, with Once on this Island being the "Oh yeah, that opened this season". So on the day of Nominations I would say the vote split was 50%-My Fair Lady, 35%-Once on This Island, and 15%-Carousel.

 Then over the course of Awards Season Carousel went from being considered the sexist musical that shouldn't of been revived in the #metoo era, to competitive with Lindsay Mendez becoming the breakout performance of the season, and Joshua Henry coming out of nowhere to a frontrunner for the Best Actor race, and Jessie Mueller actually becoming competitive. If there is one this Scott Ruddin knows how to do it is campaign for Awards. If I had to bet he was able to change the minds of enough voters from voting for My Fair Lady, to instead vote for Carousel, that effected the final outcome. Add to that I am sure Ken Davenport campaigned with the message "Carousel and My Fair Lady are great and all, but so is Once on this Island. The former two are already in the million dollar club without the Tony, but Once on This Island needs it to survive." The two arguments likely peeled off just enough support from My Fair Lady, while simultaneously giving enough votes to Once on this Island, so that it came out with the award. If I had to bet the final vote totals were probably:   42%-Once On the Island, 37% My Fair Lady, and 30%- Carousel.

I do think Lincoln Center Theater may also be facing a backlash from commercial producers who can't feasibly produce such lavish productions. One of the arguments made for why The King and I won over Roundabout Theater Company's On the Twentieth Century  was that The King and I would be the only production open past labor day. Lincoln Center Theater rarely takes risks with their Vivian Beaumont revivals, and I think voters are starting to get tired of that. We all knew My Fair Lady would be a gorgeous production, and it was.

Part of me also thinks that Laura Benanti's joke/comment on the "Hard Pass" for Eliza in the TheaterMania year in review video actually held a lot of weight in the theater community. We all originally were expecting either A-List Hollywood stars (Anne Hathaway and Collin Firth) for Eliza and Henry or at least a Broadway A-Lister, or maybe even an unknown, but then we got two former TV stars with Lauren Ambrose and Harry Hadden-Paton. With Eliza especially being such a coveted role in a show that won't be revived for at least another 20 years, I have a feeling many in the acting community felt betrayed by Ambrose's casting, and were only further infuriated by Sher hiring a relatively unknown British Harry Hadden-Paton over a Broadway actor. The fact that neither became the breakout performance of the season only fueled that unrest. 

Updated On: 6/11/18 at 11:17 AM

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/11/18 at 11:28am

I really do think your analysis is incredibly plausible and believable. Just one thing, Lauren Ambrose actually received some seriously excellent reviews, the type of reviews any A-list Broadway actor would kill for, but even that didn't quite make her a breakout star and a lot of people had been picking away at her performances and her all season even before she started. There was certainly some hurt feelings over her casting. I'm not saying there weren't valid critiques, but people were really looking to find reasons to undermine her performance and I felt it all season. I hope Ambrose keeps doing musical theatre and improves with experience and maybe one day become an accepted member of the community. Not every A-list go-to Broadway actress was accepted the first time around as well. There used to be serious hate for Laura Benanti on BWW during the Into the Woods to Pre-Gypsy days.

Updated On: 6/11/18 at 11:28 AM

[(Insert Clever Name)]

Posted: 6/11/18 at 11:32am

It was a good production of a really weird musical. They worked beautifully with the material they had and elevated it. Its different than having a very well written musical that can stand on its own two feet.

[AADA81]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 8:44pm

I saw 'Carousel' and thought it was great.  I didn't observe the complaints lodged against it here and thought it was a deserving nominee.  "Once On This Island" and "My Fair Lady" also have memorable scores, though I have yet to see the revivals, but I think in terms of quality this was a great selection to choose from and I'm glad new audiences have been exposed to all three.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 8:46pm

No. I thought OOTI was an over directed mess of a production of a show that was not very good to begin with.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 8:56pm

The My Fair Lady revival was boring and miscast. Carousel was flat out bad. Once on this Island was a magical evening in the theatre.

I think most people, myself included, were disappointed by the casting of My Fair Lady. It lacked any real excitement. I went into the production expecting to love it and left it very disappointed. I assumed that Sher must know best and knew what he was doing when he cast the people he did. This is the second time now that I've been somewhat disappointed by the casting of a Sher revival at Lincoln Center. Casting people who can't sing the part well or can't fill a theatre past the first few rows or can't really play the part at all. Sleepy is the only word that I would use to describe this production of My Fair Lady. He directed it like it was Ibsen and Eliza was going to shoot herself at the end. Just unfunny and pretty boring.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 6/12/18 at 9:06pm

I absolutely loved everything about My Fair Lady, from the performances to the set to the costumes to the revised ending (which was simply a new stage direction).  I thought it was thrilling. 

And I was surprised, especially by how good Lauren Ambrose’s voice was. Don’t get me wrong as I thought Lenk was completely deserving of her Tony, all I’m saying is that I didn’t think Ambrose was going to be as good as she was. 

Posted: 6/13/18 at 12:43pm

YAAAASSSSS!!!!! Kudos to Once On This Island!!!

(I did extremely well in my predictions over at Gold Derby, partly because I went with my gut instinct on Best Musical Revival & on Tony Shalhoub.) 

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 2:20pm

As much as I LOVED that Sher and co did with My Fair Lady, Once On This Island was extraordinary and very deserving of that award.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/13/18 at 2:29pm

Obviously, The Sock Puppet deserved Best Revival.  It must have been revived at least a dozen times in the last 8 years or so.